Cheese slicer with a cutting wire on a rotable arm and a holding arm

ABSTRACT

A cheese slicer having a bottom plate on which a block of cheese can be placed, a vertical guide rod mounted on the bottom plate having an external thread on which a slicing arm with a slicing string, and a roundel with an internal thread which accommodate the thread, are pivotally mounted, is equipped with a holding arm, which can rest against and hold the upper part of the block of cheese in position during the slicing operation. The holding arm is embodied with a roundel, which has an internal flush bore with an internal diameter (D), which is slightly larger than the external diameter of the thread, so that the holding arm can be slidably mounted on the guide rod below the roundel in such a way that it takes part in the vertical movement of the roundel, and there are means to maintain the vertical movement of the arm to a vertical plane along the side of the cheese which is to be supported. The holding arm can support the cheese during the slicing operation and in this way prevent tilting of the cheese or the cutting of slices not of uniform thickness.

The present invention relates to a cheese slicer of the kind described in the introductory part of claim 1.

It is a drawback in the known cheese slicer that the cheese is not sufficiently held in place and can tilt and need to be supported by one hand during the slicing operation. It will therefore be necessary to use both hands when a slice is to be cut. Furthermore, there is a risk that the slices will not be of uniform thickness.

It is a purpose of the present invention to describe a cheese slicer in which the cheese is fixed in position so that the above drawbacks in the known cheese slicers are avoided. This is achieved by embodying the cheese slicer as described in the characterising part of claim 1.

Claim 2 describes preferred means for a coupling of the holding arm to the slicing arm in a cheese slicer according to the invention.

Claim 3 describes a special embodiment and attachment of a tongue for the coupling of the holding arm to the slicing arm in a cheese slicer according to the invention.

Claim 4 describes preferred means for the attachment if the holding arm at a determined vertical plane during the slicing operation, and

Claim 5 describes a preferred embodiment of the holding arm and the belonging roundel for a cheese slicer according the invention, so that the roundel is guided both externally and internally on the vertical guide rod.

The invention is explained in detail below with reference to the drawing in which

FIG. 1 is a perspective view seen slantingly from above of a cheese slicer according to the invention with a block of cheese in position.

FIG. 2 is a top view of the cheese slicer,

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a section of the guide rod with a slicing rod attached and a holding arm for a cheese slicer according to the invention,

FIG. 4 is a split side view of part of a guide rod, a slicing rod, and a holding arm before they are mounted on the guide rod.

FIG. 5 supplements the view in FIG. 3 with the parts shown in perspective.

FIG. 6 shows a section through a guide rod and roundel for the slicing arm with a roundel coupled to a holding arm for a cheese slicer according to the invention.

FIG. 7 shows a holding arm with belonging roundel viewed in the direction of the arrows in I-I in FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 shows a holding arm without roundel for a cheese slicer according to the invention.

FIG. 9 shows the holding arm viewed in the direction of the arrows II-II in FIG. 8,

FIG. 10 is a side view of a roundel for a holding arm,

FIG. 11 shows the roundel seen in the direction of the arrows III-III in FIG. 10,

FIG. 12 shows the roundel seen in the direction of the arrows IV-IV in FIG. 10, and

FIG. 13 shows a section after the line V-V in FIG. 12.

As shown in the drawing a cheese slicer comprises a bottom plate 1 on which a block of cheese 2, which is to be sliced, can be placed. The bottom plate is mounted with a vertical guide rod 3 with a ball shaped hand knob 7 at the top and with an external thread 3′. On the guide rod 3 is mounted a swingable slicing arm 4 with a slicing string 5. At its farthest end the slicing arm is embodied with a roundel 8 with an internal thread 8′ mating the thread 3′ so that the slicing arm 4, when turned round once clockwise, is moved a distance downwards equal to the pitch of the thread 3′.

According to the invention the cheese slicer is furthermore under the slicing arm 4 embodied with a holding arm 9, which at its inner end is connected to a roundel 10, which as shown in FIG. 10 has an internal flush bore 10′ with a diameter D, which is slightly larger than or equal to the outer diameter d of the thread 3′.

The holding arm 9 with the roundel 10 can therefore be slidably mounted on the guide rod 3 under the roundel 8.

As shown in FIG. 2 the guide rod 3 is located outside a corner of the cheese 2 with its centre line c-c at a vertical plane a-a, which preferably is located outside and can be parallel with the side of the cheese, which is to be supported during the slicing operation.

As shown in FIG. 4 the roundel 8 reaches a distance s below the arm 4 and is here embodied with an annular milled groove or trace 11, whereby a circumferential edge or collar 12 is formed at the bottom of the roundel. As shown in FIGS. 4, 6 and 13 the roundel 10 on the holding arm 9 has a larger outer diameter than the collar 12 and is embodied with a plane top side 13 against which the under side 14 of the collar 12 can rest. The roundel 10 is furthermore embodied with an edge or tongue 15, which can fit into the groove 11 when the collar 12 is placed on and slid sideways in over the top side 13 of the roundel 10. This results in a coupling of the roundel 8 on the slicing arm 4 and the roundel 10 on the holding arm 9 and thereby constitutes a coupling of the arm 9 to the arm 4, so that the arm 9 will take part in the vertical movement of the arm 4 when the latter arm is turned.

As shown in FIGS. 6, 10, 12 and 13 the roundel 10 can on part of the circumference be embodied with a sectionally ring-shaped raised part 16, which has an inner radius, which is larger than the outer radius of the collar 12. The tongue 15 is as shown embodied as an internal edge at the top of the raised part 16.

As shown the guide rod 3 is embodied as a tube with an inner space 17. The tube is embodied with a through-going slit 18 in the tube wall, which slit is located along a carrier in the plane a-a. The holding arm 9, or an extension of it, is carried a distance into the roundel 10, and the roundel 10 is placed on the rod 3 so that the holding arm 9 or an extension of it is carried down into the slit 18.

The holding arm 9 has a square section and at its end it is embodied with a transverse, cylindrical element 19 with an outer diameter, which is equal to the internal diameter of the hollow space 17 and fits into it with an easy sliding fit. As shown in FIG. 1 the roundel 10 has in the wall side into its bottom part a milled portion 20, which can take up and maintain the holding arm 9 in position.

The shown and described cheese slicer serves only to illustrate the invention. Within the framework of the invention it is possible to imagine various modifications. For example, the guiding of the holding arm 9 in the plane a-a could be embodied in a different way. The holding arm 9 can also instead of being straight be imagined carried out with a bend and have a land plate at the end, and the holding arm 9 and its belonging roundel 8 can instead of two parts also be imagined embodied as a single unit. 

1. Cheese slicer which comprises a bottom plate (1) on which a block of cheese (2), which is to be sliced, can be placed, a bottom plate mounted with a vertical guide rod (3) with a ball-shaped hand knob (7) and with an external thread (3′) on which a slicing arm (4) with a slicing string (5) with a handle (6) at the farthest end and at the inner end—the one closest to the guide rod (3)—with a rotatably mounted slicing arm roundel (8) with an internal thread (8′), which fits the external thread (3′) on the guide rod (3), is swingably mounted, characterised by the fact that the cheese slicer furthermore under the arm (4) is embodied with a holding arm (9) which can rest against and hold the upper part of a block of cheese in position during the slicing operation, that the rod (3) is located outside a corner of the cheese (2) with its centre line (c-c) in a vertical plane (a-a), which preferably is located outside and can be parallel with the side of the cheese, which is to be supported during the slicing operation, that the holding arm (9) at the inner end is embodied with a roundel (10) with an internal flush bore (10′) with a diameter (D), which is slightly larger than or equal to the outer diameter (d) of the thread (3′) so that the holding arm (9) can be mounted slidably on the guide rod (3) under the roundel (8), that the roundel (10) is coupled to the roundel (8) so that it takes part in the vertical movement of the roundel (8), and that there are means to keep the vertical movement of the arm (9) to a vertical level—along a side of the block of cheese (2).
 2. Cheese slicer according to claim 1, characterised by the fact that the roundel (8) reaches a distance (s) below the arm (4) and is here embodied with a milled groove or trace (11), thereby at the bottom of the roundel (8) producing a circumferential edge or collar (12), that the roundel (10) on the holding arm (9) has a larger outer diameter than the collar (12) and is embodied with a plane top side (13) against which the under side (14) of the collar (12) can come to rest, and that the roundel (10) is also embodied with an edge or tongue (15) which can be engaged in the groove (11) when the collar (12) is placed on or slid sideways in over the top side (13) of the roundel (10).
 3. Cheese slicer according to claim 2, characterised by the fact that the roundel (10) on a section of the circumference has a ring-shaped circular raised part (16) with an internal radius, which is equal to or slightly larger than the outer radius of the collar (12), and that the tongue (15) is embodied as an internal edge the the top on the raised part (16).
 4. Cheese slicer according to claim 1, characterised by the fact that the guide rod (3) is in the form of a tube with an internal hollow space (17) and a longitudinal through-going slit (18), and that the holding arm (9) or an extension of it is positioned into the holding arm roundel (10), and that the holding arm roundel (10) is positioned on the rod (3) in such a way that the holding arm (9) or its extension is positioned into the slit (18).
 5. Cheese slicer according to claim 4, characterised by the fact that the holding arm (9) has a square cross section and is embodied at the end with a transverse cylindrical element (19), which has an outer diameter which is equal to internal diameter in the hollow space (17) and fits into it by means of a light sliding movement, and that the roundel (10) in the under side in a side wall has a milled groove (20) which can take up and hold the holding arm (9) in position. 